Career Transitions Forum

Deb is the founder of Self-Empower Coaching whose mission is to help professionals achieve not only success but also experience satisfaction and significance in their careers. She helps people explore the next phases of their career path, whether that is advancement within their established career or carving out a completely new path, including starting their own business. 

Deb has a deep and diverse background in business, training and education. After a long corporate career in marketing, she served as director of entrepreneurship and Business/Marketing instructor at Wake Tech Community College. In addition to her private practice, she is a senior career management Consultant at Right Management, a global leader in talent and career management within Manpower Group. She currently serves as a SCORE volunteer business mentor and has been a volunteer career coach at Dress for Success.

Deb holds a BS in Medical Technology from Neumann University, a MAS in Business Management from Johns Hopkins University and two coaching certifications, one from The Life Mastery Institute as a DreamBuilder Coach and the second from The Coach Training Alliance as a Life and Career Coach.

LinkedIn profile

Carrie brings insights gained from a background in HR talent acquisition and agency recruiting, where she worked extensively with Fortune 500 companies throughout the Triangle, including IBM, Red Hat, Cisco and LexisNexis. This background allows Carrie to offer a unique perspective on the recruiting and hiring process, having worked behind the scenes closely with HR authorities and hiring managers to fill hundreds of roles in finance, technology and clinical research.

With a bachelor’s degree in Speech Communications from Tulane University, Carrie possesses a wealth of knowledge on methods used by hiring teams to determine skill set match and cultural fit. She owns her own consulting business and teaches classes in career transition at Wake Tech Community College and with Dress for Success, a nonprofit helping women achieve economic independence.

Rachel cultivates and develops people, helping them leverage their strengths through training and coaching. For the past six years, she has been a coach with The Entrepreneur's Source and volunteers with Dress for Success, the Better Business Bureau and American Corporate Partnership. She comes from the hospitality and event planning industry. During her career, she rebranded two hotels to improve market share. She was a regional director over 13 markets across the nation and a General Manager for nine years, orchestrating $5 million budgets. She has launched two startups - a vending model and a web-based model. She also created a women's networking group called "Women in the Workforce."

Olivia is the global human resources business partner at United Phosphorus Limited (UPL), supporting strategic HR initiatives and employees in the U.S., Latin America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. She has professional experience in the biopharmaceutical, financial services and technology industries. Olivia is passionate about "employee experience" in full support of a "people first" HR Strategy. After relocating to North Carolina in 2018, she experienced her own career transition and is dedicating her time outside of work to helping others who are experiencing career transitions of their own. She is currently volunteering with Raleigh SHRM, Dress for Success NC, Activate Good, Note in the Pocket and Haven House. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Manhattanville College and an MBA from Iona College.

Prashant is a senior financial advisor and Certified Financial Planner who helps guide individuals, families, trusts and business owners toward achieving their financial goals and dreams. Areas of expertise include investments, taxes, retirement, insurance and estate planning. Prashant is also a Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor who can assist with 401(k) retirement plans and a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor. Prior to working in financial services, Prashant worked with IBM in various hardware and software architecture, consulting and management roles.

Al has been involved as a leader and/or advisor of CTF and its predecessors since 2008. Over a long career, he headed corporate communications for Marriott International and three other NYSE companies in the Mid-Atlantic and Texas. His experience ranges from branding and media relations to stakeholder and crisis communications, including speech writing and nonprofit development. In 2016, he joined Fonville Morisey Realty as a realtor. He holds B.J. and M.A. degrees from the University of Missouri School of Journalism.